In addition, all of my trades were posted real-time in the chat room. You can read today's chat room logs for details about each one of my trades via price action trading from entry to exit (e.g. time, price, contract size) along with price action commentary as the trade traversed to its completion...all archived @http://www.thestrategylab.com/ftchat/forum/viewtopic.php?f=126&t=1708

Also, posted below are direct links to information about my price action trade methodology and trading plan (there's a difference between the two) that enables me to identify key trading areas in the price action that represent changes in supply/demand and volatility along with being able to exploit these changes via WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis). I'm primarily a day trader because it suits my personal lifestyle but I do occasionally swing trade and position trade. Simply, my trade method is applicable for position trading, swing trading and day trading.

##TheStrategyLab Chat Room is free. Members and I use the chat room to post WRB Analysis commentary, real-time trades and to post anything else related to trading. The chat room helps me tremendously in my own trading because I use it to document (journal) my thought process from trade to trade so that I can easily review at a later date my thoughts as I interacted with the markets...info I can not get from my broker statements. Also, this is not a signal calling chat room where a head trader tells you when to buy or sell. If you join the chat room and then you do not ask any questions about WRB Analysis in your own trading or you do not document (journal) your own thoughts from trade to trade...the chat room will not be useful to you. Chat room access instructions @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewforum.php?f=164

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)Stocks sank more than 1% on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve announced plans to further reduce its monthly bond buying program.

While the Fed's decision was not a surprise, some investors had expected the central bank to address the recent turmoil in Turkey and other emerging markets that has spilled over to Wall Street.

Drew Nordlicht, managing director at wealth management firm HighTower in San Diego, said that investors were disappointed by the Fed's decision to "not even acknowledge the strains" in emerging markets.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost nearly 190 points. Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) was the biggest drag on the Dow as investors were disappointed by its earnings outlook. AT&T (T, Fortune 500) also gave earnings guidance that fell short of expectations. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both fell more than 1%.

Stocks started the day on a sour note due to concerns about Turkey. The Turkish lira fell further Wednesday despite an emergency interest rate hike Tuesday. Investors have been rattled in recent weeks by what some are now calling the Fragile Five of developing markets: Turkey, India, Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa.

In addition to Turkey, India and South Africa have raised rates this week to stabilize shaky currencies. The Argentinian peso has been in free fall since Argentina's government moved to devalue the currency last week. China has also been a source of concern since a report on manufacturing activity came in weaker than expected last week.

Many emerging markets have benefited over the past few years as the Fed and other central banks have pumped money into the global economy. But investors have been pulling out of emerging markets this year now that the Fed has begun to scale back its bond buying. The bet is that higher rates (and a stronger dollar) in the U.S. will make emerging market investments far less attractive.

And even though nobody was surprised by the Fed's decision to reduce its bond-buying program to $65 billion a month from $75 billion, the move clearly rattled investors.

"There was a real visceral reaction that may have been about emerging market fears," said Kristina Hooper, U.S. investment strategist at Allianz Global Investors. "Clearly the market has fragile nerves right now. Even an expected event can cause jitters."

Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) shares were down again. The stock has been under pressure since the company reported iPhone sales Tuesday that fell short of expectations. Apple briefly dipped below $500 for the first time since October.

Some traders say Apple shares will continue to slide until CEO Tim Cook demonstrates that the company can still innovate.

"$AAPL Cook obviously doesn't care about share prices. Stock will go down further until we see new products," said StockTwits user nicuagain.

"$AAPL no one is going to be doing any buying until new product rumors come out. better places to put cash for a while," said Buyside.

But others were holding out hope for a rebound.

"$AAPL this will turn around in a few weeks. I keep telling myself. gut feeling," said iamjonnymac.

Shares of Electronic Arts (EA) were higher as investors shrugged off a weak outlook and focused on earnings and sales that topped forecasts.

Overall, the bulk of quarterly results for the companies in the S&P 500 have been better than expected. Of the 114 companies that have reported earnings, 98 have topped analysts' modest expectations, according to S&P Capital IQ.

However, 100 of those companies have issued disappointing earnings guidance.

4:05 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] Equities ended broadly lower with small caps leading the weakness. The Russell 2000 lost 1.4% while the S&P 500 fell 1.0% as nine of ten sectors finished in the red. Although today's session generated plenty of excitement, some of the events that played out over the course of the day were set in motion yesterday.

Shortly after yesterday's session on Wall Street ended, the Central Bank of Turkey shocked the market with a 445-basis point hike to 12.00% in an attempt to halt the rapidly weakening lira. The move worked...for 15 hours. The lira strengthened after the announcement, but spent the remainder of the overnight session in a steady retreat, giving up all of its gains.

Interestingly, yesterday's news of out of Turkey also gave a boost to U.S. equity futures while weighing on the yen. The moves did not hold as futures spent the night in a steady retreat while the yen rallied.

The Japanese currency maintained its strength throughout the session, posing a headwind to equities. Dollar/yen spent the entire trading day just above the 102.00 level while yen futures gained 0.6%, extending their 2014 advance to 3.0%.

Meanwhile, stocks hovered near their opening levels in the morning, but fell to fresh lows after the Federal Open Market Committee released its latest policy statement, which called for another $10 billion reduction to monthly asset purchases. Strikingly, just like losses observed earlier in the day, the post-FOMC retreat was accompanied by more yen strength.

Elsewhere, the other commodity-related sector, energy, outperformed with a loss of 0.3%. The sector finished well ahead of the broader market thanks to bottom-line beats reported by Marathon Petroleum (MPC 86.85, +3.68) and Valero (VLO 51.50, +1.30).

Other cyclical groups were mixed with respect to the broader market as technology (-0.9%) outperformed while consumer discretionary (-1.7%), financials (-1.1%), and industrials (-1.0%) lagged.

Mar natural gas extended yesterday's advance, gaining steam on expectations for a large draw in inventories on tomorrow's EIA report due to cold weather persisting in various regions of the U.S. Prices lifted from a session low of $4.97 per MMBtu and rose as high as $5.49 per MMBtu, a new high since February 2010 for the continuous contract, moments before settling with a 9.9% gain at $5.43 per MMBtu. Mar crude oil, on the other hand, traded lower as the EIA reported a build of 6.421 mln barrels in inventories while a smaller build of 2.25-2.3 mln barrels was anticipated. The energy component traded as low as $96.42 per barrel in early morning pit action but managed to erase most of the loss. It brushed a session high of $97.75 per barrels just before settling 0.1% lower at $97.30 per barrel. Feb gold traded higher ahead of the 2:00pm FOMC announcement, with prices touching a session high of $1269.30 per ounce in early morning pit trade. It settled the session with a 0.9% gain at $1262.00 per ounce. The yellow metal slipped slightly following the FOMC decision to cut another $10 bln from its asset purchase program but has since reversed the initial move lower. Mar silver pulled back from its session high of $19.97 per ounce set in morning action and trended lower. It settled at its session low of $19.55 per ounce, booking a gain of 0.3%.

3:05 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 trades lower by 1.0% with one hour remaining in today's session. Although stocks rebounded from their post-FOMC lows, sellers have returned in force. Similar to moves observed earlier in the day, the latest wave of selling was accompanied by a strengthening yen.

The Japanese currency will likely be a driving factor for the performance of global markets overnight. Should yen weakness return in the overnight session, it will likely translate into strength for U.S. index futures.

2:35 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] At the end of our midday update, we speculated that the release of the latest policy directive from the Fed is likely to introduce more volatility into today's session. That expectation has been fulfilled as equities chopped around immediately following the announcement before sliding to fresh lows.

The slide to lows was accompanied by yen strength as the Japanese currency built on its earlier advance. Currently, dollar/yen is struggling near the 102.00 level while yen futures trade higher by 0.8%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is lower by 0.8%.

Elsewhere, Treasuries have inched to new highs. The benchmark 10-yr yield is now lower by six basis points at 2.70%.

2:05 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The Federal Open Market Committee has just released its latest policy statement, which called for another $10 billion reduction to monthly asset purchases, lowering the program to $65 billion. The announcement was in-line with market expectations and caused little initial reaction in equities. Similarly, Treasuries took the announcement in stride. The 10-yr yield remains lower by five basis points at 2.71%.

Elsewhere, the dollar rallied modestly against the euro, the yen, as well as the Turkish lira. Currently, the Dollar Index is higher by 0.1% at 80.63.

1:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] We're closing in on the release of the latest FOMC policy directive at 2:00 p.m. ET and we suspect every central banker in the emerging markets has one eye on their country's currency and one eye on a news feed.

The consensus view is that the Fed will agree to reduce its monthly purchases of agency MBS and longer-term Treasury securities to $65 bln per month from $75 bln per month. Accordingly, it won't be a total surprise if it does that. The element of surprise lies in the reaction to the announcement.

Stocks are already down sharply for the day. The strongest reaction would be presumably in response to the Fed deciding to stand pat at $75 bln per month. Either way, look for currency moves to help dictate the price action post-FOMC since they have held sway for the most part pre-FOMC.

1:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] At midday, the major averages hover in the red with the Russell 2000 (-1.0%) displaying the largest loss. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 holds a more modest decline of 0.6% as eight of ten sectors hover in the red.

Global markets have endured a busy 24-hour stretch with action starting shortly after yesterday's close on Wall Street when the Central Bank of Turkey stunned the markets with a 445-basis point hike to 12.00%. The policy tightening took place in an effort to stem outflows by strengthening the lira.

Although the Turkish currency rallied on the announcement, it has since given up its entire gain. Furthermore, this has added to the concerns that have been surrounding emerging markets since the start of the year.

Strikingly, yesterday's rate hike in Turkey also boosted U.S. equity futures while weighing on the Japanese yen. However, futures spent the entire overnight session in a steady decline while the yen rallied sharply off its lows.

At this juncture, yen futures trade higher by 0.7%, extending their year-to-date gain to 3.1%. Yen strength has presented a headwind to equities throughout the month, resulting in a 3.6% January decline for the S&P 500.

With one half of today's session in the rear-view mirror, more volatility is likely around 14:00 ET when the Federal Open Market Committee releases its latest policy statement. The directive is expected to call for another $10 billion reduction to monthly asset purchases.

Following the release of the directive, participants are likely to keep an eye on the foreign exchange market with emerging market currencies receiving added attention.

Treasuries sit on their highs with the 10-yr yield down five basis points at 2.71%.

12:35 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-0.6%) remains in the middle of its range, which is a level that has been defended for the better part of the last two hours. Similarly, most individual sectors also hover near their recent levels with materials (+1.2%) in the lead while consumer staples (-1.7%) lag. Like staples, the discretionary sector (-1.2%) also sits at its session low.

Barring any sharp moves in the foreign exchange market, equities are likely to maintain narrow ranges for the next 90 minutes as participants await the latest policy statement from the Federal Reserve, which is expected to call for another $10 billion reduction to monthly asset purchases.

Treasuries remain near their highs with the 10-yr yield down five basis points at 2.71%.

12:00 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] Not much has changed since our last update as the S&P 500 hovers right in the middle of today's range. Despite the ongoing rebound effort, only energy (+0.1%) and materials (+1.3%) can be found in positive territory.

The energy sector holds a slim gain even as crude oil trades lower by 0.4%. However, the sector is drawing strength from Phillips 66 (PSX 76.20, +1.11), Marathon Petroleum (MPC 87.38, +4.21), and Valero (VLO 52.00, +1.80), all of which reported above-consensus earnings.

On the downside, the consumer staples sector (-1.6%) trails the remaining groups.

11:30 am: [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 has narrowed its loss to 0.3% in a move that saw corresponding upticks across most sectors. Furthermore, the entire rebound off the morning lows has coincided with downticks in the Japanese yen after the currency hit a session high just ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street.

The foreign exchange market bears watching closely into the afternoon in the event yen strength reappears and presents a headwind to equities once again. At this time, dollar/yen hovers near 102.30 after notching a low at 102.00. Overall, the pair has trimmed less than a third of its entire decline.

Interestingly, the modest rebound took place without noteworthy leadership from any particular sector. The discretionary group continues to lag while the two top-weighted sectors-technology (-0.6%) and financials (-0.6%)-trade in-line with the S&P 500. Another influential group, health care, outperforms with a loss of 0.3%.

Elsewhere, Treasuries remain on their highs with the 10-yr yield off four basis points at 2.72%.

10:35 am: [BRIEFING.COM]

Precious metals rallied this morning, which pushed gold and silver to the current highs for the day so far. Feb gold is now +1.2% at $1265.80/oz and Mar silver is +1.2% at $19.73/oz WTI crude oil, on the other hand, sold off this morning and fell as low as $96.43/barrel. Just ahead of the weekly EIA inventory data, Mar crude oil was down about 0.6% at $96.81/barrel Following the data, Mar crude was -0.9% at $96.53/barrel Natural gas futures are trading higher this morning and after rising above the $5/MMBtu level in early morning action. Feb nat gas is now +1.8% at $5.03/MMBtu

10:05 am: [BRIEFING.COM] The major averages have climbed off their initial lows, but they continue to hold the bulk of their losses. Notably, the recent move has coincided with the yen surrendering a portion of its gains after strengthening notably into the open. At this juncture, dollar/yen remains lower by 1.0% as it trades just above the 102.00 area. Furthermore, yen futures trade higher by 0.7% while the S&P 500 sports a loss of 0.7%.

The early selling has sent some participants in search of volatility protection. As a result, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 17.70, +1.89) is higher by 11.9%.

9:45 am: [BRIEFING.COM] As expected, the major averages began the session sharply lower with yen strength pressuring equities. The S&P 500 trades lower by 0.6% with eight of ten sectors displaying losses. Of the nine decliners, only two sport losses in excess of 1.0%.

On the upside, the materials (+0.8%) sector displays a solid gain with help from Dow Chemical (DOW 45.55, +2.49), which trades higher by 5.8% after announcing above-consensus earnings and hiking its quarterly dividend from $0.32 to $0.37.

Treasuries sit on their highs with the 10-yr yield down four basis points at 2.72%.

9:15 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -16.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -34.30. Equities are on track to begin today's session with sharp losses as the S&P 500 futures trade 17 points below fair value. Last evening, Turkey's central bank surprised the market by boosting its key interest rate by a stunning 445 basis points to 12.00% in an attempt to stem capital outflows. The announcement sparked a rally in the Turkish lira and gave a boost to equity futures; however, after notching the immediate post-announcement highs, equity futures spent the rest of the overnight session in a steady decline. Meanwhile, the lira strengthened initially, but has since slid below last night's levels. Currently, USD/TRY hovers near 2.2772.

The overnight weakness in futures was accompanied by a strengthening yen, and accelerated as the European session kicked off. At this juncture, markets across Europe hover near their lows with the regional benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 index trading lower by 2.0%.

Treasuries have drawn strength from the weakness in futures. The benchmark 10-yr yield is lower by five basis points at 2.71%.

Today's economic data was limited to the weekly MBA Mortgage Index (-0.2% versus +4.7% prior), but later this afternoon, the Federal Reserve will release its latest policy statement, which is expected to call for another $10 billion reduction to monthly asset purchases, lowering the monthly total to $65 billion.

9:01 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -12.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -27.30. The S&P 500 futures have continued their decline during the past 30 minutes. The S&P 500 futures now trade 13 points below fair value. It should be noted the weakness in futures has been taking place in conjunction with a strengthening yen. Carry unwinds pressured the broader market at the end of last week, and yen strength is posing a headwind to equities once again.

Markets across Asia ended mostly higher, piggybacking Tuesday's gains on Wall Street. Action was aided by the Turkish central bank's decision to hike its overnight lending rate 425 basis points to 12.00% and by additional liquidity injections from the People's Bank of China ahead of the Lunar New Year. Elsewhere, Bank Negara Malaysia held its key rate steady at 3.00%, as expected.

Among news of note, Turkey's central bank surprised the market last night with its 445 basis point rate hike to 12.00% in an attempt to halt the rapidly weakening lira. Although USD/TRY initially fell from 2.2550 to 2.1645, it has since erased the entire decline. Currently, the pair trades near 2.2793.

In France, the CAC is lower by 1.2% as consumer names lag. Danone and L'Oreal are both down near 1.0% apiece. Producers of basic materials outperform with Lafarge and Solvay up 1.2% and 0.8%, respectively. Germany's DAX holds a loss of 1.0% as all but three index members hover in the red. Exporters lag broadly with BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen down 1.5% and 2.3%. Fresenius SE outperforms with a modest gain of 0.4%. Great Britain's FTSE trades down 0.8% with defensive names leading the retreat. Coca-Cola, Imperial Tobacco, and J Sainsbury display losses between 0.8% and 2.6%. Miners are showing strength with Antofagasta, Anglo American, and Fresnillo up between 3.5% and 6.5%.

8:28 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -6.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -15.50. U.S. equity futures hover in the red with the S&P 500 futures down seven points below fair value. Last evening, Turkey's decision to hike its key rate by 425 basis points to 12.00% resonated with the markets as the yen weakened and global equities strengthened. The S&P 500 futures jumped on the announcement, but that marked the overnight high as futures spent the remainder of the night in a steady retreat.

A slate of better-than-expected earnings has not done much to halt the slide in futures. On that note, AT&T (T 33.00, -0.70), Amgen (AMGN 120.00, -0.70), Boeing (BA 132.80, -4.29), and Yahoo! (YHOO 36.48, -1.74) all reported above-consensus results, but the four names display pre-market losses between 0.6% and 4.5%.

Later today, the Federal Reserve will release its latest policy statement, which is expected to call for another $10 billion reduction to monthly asset purchases, lowering the monthly total to $65 billion. The decision will cross the wires at 14:00 ET.

U.S. stocks sank, dragging benchmark indexes to the lowest levels since November, amid disappointing earnings forecasts and the Federal Reserve’s plan to reduce stimulus even amid turmoil in emerging markets.

Yahoo! Inc. slumped 8.7 percent, the most since July 2009, as its sales forecast signaled slowing growth. Boeing Co. retreated 5.3 percent for its worst drop in more than two years after its 2014 profit forecast trailed analysts’ estimates amid a slowing pace of jet orders. Dow Chemical (DOW) Co. jumped 3.9 percent after stepping up its dividend and share-buyback plan.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 1 percent to 1,774.20 at 4 p.m. in New York, wiping out yesterday’s advance and sending the benchmark gauge lower for the fourth time in five days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 189.77 points, or 1.2 percent, to 15,738.79 today. About 7.8 billion shares changed hands in the U.S., 26 percent above the three-month average.

“The emerging markets have been weak now for quite some time, but the drama has heightened really in the past few days,” Erik Davidson, the San Francisco-based deputy chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Private Bank, which oversees $170 billion, said by phone. “It would be out of sorts for the Fed to react on such a short-term news development.”

Stocks extended early losses as Fed policy makers pressed on with another $10 billion reduction in the monthly bond purchases intended to speed a recovery from the worst recession since the Great Depression. Some officials have expressed concern that the Fed’s record $4.1 trillion balance sheet could help create asset-price bubbles.

‘Further Improvement’

“Labor market indicators were mixed but on balance showed further improvement,” the Federal Open Market Committee said today in a statement following a two-day meeting in Washington that was the last for Chairman Ben Bernanke, who will be succeeded by Vice Chairman Janet Yellen on Feb. 1. “The unemployment rate declined but remains elevated.”

The Fed this month began paring the purchases by $10 billion a month to $75 billion. The reductions announced today will reduce the pace to $65 billion.

The Taper in 90 Seconds: Everything You Need to Know

Three rounds of Fed monetary stimulus helped the S&P 500 rise as much as 173 percent from a 12-year low in 2009. The U.S. stock benchmark rallied 30 percent last year, the most since 1997. While the index reached an all-time high of 1,848.38 on Jan. 15, it has slumped 4 percent since then.

Emerging Markets

Speculation about Fed policy has caused turmoil in emerging market currencies. The Turkish lira depreciated as much as 2.4 percent today, even after the country more than doubled its key interest rate to stem capital outflows. South Africa’s rand also weakened as an unexpected increase in its benchmark interest rate failed to reassure investors.

About 77 percent of the S&P 500 companies that have posted earnings this season beat analysts’ projections. Profit at S&P 500 companies probably rose 6.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, and sales increased 2.6 percent, analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg show.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index rose 9.8 percent today to 17.35. The gauge of S&P 500 options known as the VIX has gained 26 percent this year.

Nine of the 10 main groups in the S&P 500 retreated today as consumer staples companies fell 1.8 percent to pace losses. Raw-materials suppliers advanced 0.5 percent for the only gain as DuPont Co. rallied 1.9 percent, the most in the Dow.

Yahoo, Boeing

Yahoo slumped 8.7 percent to $34.89. The company forecast first-quarter sales that signaled slowing growth amid competition from Google Inc. and Facebook. Yahoo’s fourth-quarter net income rose 28 percent to $348.2 million, while net sales slipped to $1.2 billion from $1.22 billion a year ago, the company said.

Boeing slumped 5.3 percent, the most since August 2011, to $129.78. The world’s largest planemaker forecast a profit for 2014 that fell short of analysts’ estimates as the pace of its jet orders slows after the second-highest year in 2013.

AT&T Inc. retreated 1.2 percent to $33.31. The second-largest U.S. wireless carrier forecast 2014 earnings-per-share will grow at a “mid-single-digit” rate, compared with analysts’ estimates for an increase of 7 percent.

DuPont climbed 1.9 percent to $60.71 after a 1.1 percent decline in the previous session. The biggest U.S. chemical maker by market value said yesterday it will repurchase $5 billion of its shares after posting fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded analysts’ estimates.

Medivation Inc. gained 11 percent to $84.29 after saying its prostate-cancer drug Xtandi slowed the disease in a study. The treatment slowed or stopped cancer growth in 59 percent of patients not on chemotherapy compared with 5 percent of those taking a placebo.

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